Developing and deploying on-demand workers

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Learn how online talent platforms help organizations to connect with on-demand workers, either as individuals or as teams. Those same platforms also may offer free or low-cost opportunities for professional development, for example, via online video training or by offering practice rooms for programmers.

- Two very important considerations you need to…think about when managing workers in the on-demand economy…are how workers will be deployed and how they will…develop their skills over time.…Deployment is the process of moving workers among…different work experiences, locations,…and assignments over time.…Traditionally, deployment was about moving people…through jobs and hierarchical levels in an organization.…But in the on-demand economy, it's more about deployment…to tasks, micro tasks, and projects.…

A career in the on-demand economy focuses more on…accumulating project and task credits…than on progressing through a series of positions…in a hierarchy.…In the on-demand economy, talent deployment…may reflect long-term collaborations between an…organization and a freelance platform or vendor.…The objective is not only to perform the task at hand,…but also to ensure that the worker has…opportunities to develop…in order to be ready for the next task that the…organization sends his or her way.…

In short, deployment may involve repeatedly…

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Released

5/10/2016

Companies like Uber and Airbnb have ushered in a new type of labor force where the terms "employee" and "employer" take on new meaning. To fill these on-demand jobs, HR departments need to become proficient at recruiting and managing a pool of rotating outside workers. Professor and HR expert Wayne Cascio outlines the HR and management challenges brought about by companies working with on-demand workers.

Wayne first outlines the characteristics of freelancers, contractors, and elancers, and what they look for in an employer. He then reviews the management challenges involved in leading an on-demand team, and the implications for HR professionals responsible for developing a global supply chain of talent. He also considers critical legal issues: how to protect proprietary information, how to avoid violations of compensation and benefits laws, and how to distinguish nonemployees from employees of an organization. By the end of this course, you'll have a better understanding of the issues facing employers and employees in the on-demand economy.